You can no longer ignore the shift towards digital marketing. Not that traditional marketing doesn’t have its place, but with more and more people accessing content and shopping via smartphones; conducting searches online and engaging in social media, to not incorporate digital is more than missing the boat. When evaluating your marketing plan, digital should not be considered a luxury, but a necessity. You need to incorporate digital or you are losing out on connecting with consumers. The excuse that digital is just too expensive is silly. Missing out on hundreds, if not thousands of new sales or connecting with millions of potential brand ambassadors could prove detrimental.

So, here I list out some essential digital marketing tactics to employ to avoid what I term a “digital disconnect”. Now, you don’t have to jump on all of these tactics at once. Make your efforts tangible. Try one or two and work your way to engage in all of these strategies. I promise, by going digital you will not only have some serious fun (it’s truly exciting to see how fast word spreads about your brand, your company and your offerings when you increase your digital presence), but you will also see huge returns.

1. Update or Enhance your Website If you’re spending thousands to decorate your office, but not investing in your website, you have problems. Your website is the digital portal to your brand. Not everyone has the opportunity to walk into your office and see your Picasso or Monet, but everyone with internet access has the opportunity to find and visit your site. Make it a great experience, a user-friendly experience and one that positions your company above the competition.

2. Invest in SEO/SEM
To help people find your site, optimize your site with relevant content/keywords. Test it…do a Google search to try to find your company. If you are not coming up on the first couple pages, think about what you could do to get there. Explore the sites that do come up to get ideas…they must be doing something right. Set up a Google AdWords campaign based on your budget.

3. Start a Blog
By starting a blog, a thought-leadership portal, with content relevant to your target audience, you establish yourself as a resource…a helpful friend AND by building content it helps with your SEO strategy! Search our guest bloggers to drive more people to your site!

4. Email Marketing
Many think that email marketing is on the decline, with social and more targeted digital strategies taking over. I disagree. While you want to limit your email activity (don’t want to over-saturate your peeps), keeping your customers/stakeholders informed is essential.

5. Get Social
If you’re not yet engaged in social…WHY?? There is little monetary investment (more time and yes, I know time is money, but start with baby steps) for great rewards. Social allows for true relationship building, listening, learning and lead generation.

6. Digital/Mobile Ads
Where are your customers? Reach out to them in these spaces. Create digital ads on different sites your customers frequent. Run mobile ads within outlets your customers engage with on the go.

7. Mobile Apps
Okay, first off, mobile apps are very different from just making your site mobile (which you HAVE to do…nothing more frustrating than visiting a site on your iPad or smartphone and it hasn’t been optimized for mobile). Mobile Apps offer your customers a totally different experience, a value beyond what your site offers.
So, what are you doing to digitize your marketing efforts? Where are you seeing the biggest ROI? Oh, and if you need any help going digital…Rhythm can rock it for you.

The Digital Beat

The Digital Beat is just our little way of keeping you entertained and informed. We like to share our knowledge of the latest in marketing trends and new technologies. We think we know this stuff and want to pass that wisdom on to you. That’s just how we roll.